1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid electrophotography printer and more particularly, to a liquid electrophotography printer that removes a harmful exhaust gas efficiently through the combination of a direct combustion method and a catalytic oxidation method while minimizing a heating time of a catalyst filter through efficient use of a heat source.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a liquid electrophotography printer, such as a color laser printer, prints the desired image on a medium using a liquid toner. In this case, a liquid toner prepared by dispersing a pigment, a resin, and a charge control agent (CCA) in a hydrocarbon carrier liquid is mainly used. In particular, excessive carrier liquid remains on an image in a fixation procedure. When the image is thermally treated for fixation, the carrier liquid is discharged outside the printer in a gas phase.
Such a gaseous carrier liquid is a type of volatile organic compound that is generally likely to contaminate an environment and cause various diseases due to its harmfulness to the human body. In addition, due to the severe odor of the volatile organic compound, when a liquid color laser printer is used in an enclosed room, users feel much unpleasantness. Therefore, the removal of such an odor in a liquid color laser printer is required.
Various deodorization methods are known in the art. For example, such methods include a method of using a perfume to mask an odor in order for a person not to smell an unpleasant odor, a method of physically adsorbing an odor ingredient on the surface of a deodorizing product, and methods of using chemicals. With respect to the methods of using chemicals, such methods include an odor fading method by neutralization, oxidation, and the like, and an oxidative degradation method of an odor ingredient into water and carbon dioxide by combustion.
With respect to the combustion of an odor ingredient, a direct combustion method and/or a catalytic oxidation method may be utilized. In the direct combustion method, an odor ingredient is ignited at a temperature greater than its ignition point, i.e., 600 to 800° C. using a flame. In the catalytic oxidation method, an odor ingredient in an oxygen containing gas is ignited or thermally degraded at a relatively low temperature of 150 to 400° C. in the presence of a catalyst, which causes the odor to fade.
The aforementioned various deodorization systems have been applied to currently used liquid electrophotography printers. Among these deodorization systems, for removal of an odor by degradation of an organic compound, a platinum catalyst filter may be used. A cylindrical heater in a hollow platinum catalyst filter is used to heat a platinum catalyst to 200° C. In the case of a commonly used ceramic honeycomb-type platinum catalyst filter, a significant amount of time is required to heat a platinum catalyst to 200° C. However, if a platinum catalyst filter is not immediately heated to 200° C. upon operation of a printer, a gaseous carrier liquid generated at an early stage is discharged without being oxidatively degraded, thus causing an odor.
According to another method for deodorization in a liquid electrophotography printer, a generated gaseous carrier liquid is treated in a manifold and a condensing bath, in addition to treatment with a deodorizing agent. In this case, however, there are problems in that the inner structure of the printer becomes excessively complicated, and the production cost of the main body of the printer increases.